Filter

Filter [Fltr] is Fusion’s native image processor with seven FilterType choices visible in the supplied Inspector: Relief, Emboss Over, Defocus, Sobel, Laplacian, Noise and Grain. It is not Resolve FX Emboss, Studio FilmGrain or a user-editable CustomFilter kernel.

The orange main Input receives a 2D image. A separate blue Effect Mask accepts Rectangle, Ellipse or Bitmap masks and limits the final contribution. Blackmagic documents effect masking as a post-processing gate: wiring the mask does not guarantee that the filter skips computing outside it.

Relief and Emboss Over shade image edges without creating actual 3D geometry. Relief resembles an imprint in metal over gray; Emboss Over lays embossed lighting over the original pixels. Keep source frame and Angle fixed for a fair A/B comparison.

Sobel and Laplacian are FilterType options, not separate plug-ins. Sobel gives readable edges useful before Glow; Laplacian is more sensitive to fine detail and existing noise. Importantly, Power does not apply to either Sobel or Laplacian: increasing it will not strengthen those edge detectors.

Defocus softens the image, but does not automatically implement a depth-aware optical bokeh model. It is a compact smoothing option; use a dedicated tool for lens-specific defocus. Judge fine image details at 100% Viewer zoom.

Noise adds uniform random texture while Grain resembles film grain with more emphasis around midtones. Seed and Animated are conditional controls for these two modes. The documented frame-based generation means that one Viewer still cannot prove the look or continuity of a moving sequence.

The Controls panel includes R/G/B/A channel toggles. With text or transparent graphics, check the Alpha Viewer: enabling A can change edge transparency even when RGB looks fine. Channel selection determines which RGBA components are processed; it is not the same as the spatial Effect Mask.

Power spans 1–10 in the modes it affects. Angle is 0–315° in 45° steps and applies only to Relief and Emboss Over. Blend 0.0 restores the input; Blend 1.0 uses the filtered output. Common settings may bypass processing at Blend 0 unless Process When Blend Is 0.0 is enabled.

The reference manual mentions a conditional Median control for a Median filter choice, but neither supplied FilterType screenshot shows Median: they display seven modes. This article does not advertise Median as available in the captured build; check your own Resolve installation if necessary.

Typed training diagrams use image Input, mask EffectMask and image Output. An edge image from Sobel must be explicitly converted, for example with Bitmap Mask, before feeding a blue mask input; Filter.Output is not itself a mask stream. These diagrams are statically checked, not executed in Resolve.

For repeatable A/B tests hold the source, frame, Viewer zoom, channel selection and Blend constant. Inspect Seed and Animated over 24–48 consecutive frames, including export-scale artifacts. An editorial “passed” is not a native pixel-parity or render certification.